In my editorial job, I sometimes get clever in how I make sweeping changes. Case in point. I recently wanted to change “PA” in a large document to “Pennsylvania.” So, Miss Smarty Pants decided to use the Replace feature in Word. Took 5 seconds. Done. BAMM.

And then I continued with my revising. By the time I realized what had happened, there was no easy way to go back and undo it. Nope. None at all. (Unless you know of a way, for the next time…Please let me know!)

Every word in the 34-ish page document beginning with “p” became a brand new word. A new word with “Pennsylvania” inserted in the middle. With a capital P.

Par example:

All songs are from Sing to the Tune.** See Pennsylvaniage 2, Important Resources Information.

ART—Pennsylvaniack a Box Show Picture 11. Give each child a brown Pennsylvaniaper square.

Crumple some Pennsylvaniaper and throw it on the ground.

Pink, orange, yellow Pennsylvaniaint

Black strips of Pennsylvaniaper

In advance, prePennsylvaniare Kit Item 00.

Correcting my mistake has taken hours. Days. A very long time. I should have counted the number of corrected words. But after awhile, you just have to laugh at yourself.

They say you learn something new every day. I learned to think more carefully about what might happen when I make sweeping changes with the Replace feature.

Walks away from the computer, slowly shaking her head . . .